The Beginning
by Italia46
Summary: This is MY version on how the Teen Titans began. It's finished, but I just have to type it all out and post it! hope you will read and review!


Chapter one: The Flying Graysons

The circus was a lively place, and even more so before it was opened to the public. It was Saturday night—just about everyone in Gotham went out on Saturday night and what better way to spend your evening than a trip to the circus where some of the world's best preformed for your entertainment? Colors, laughter, action—it was a whirlwind storm of awe and excitement, you almost guaranteed to talk about it for a good month after seeing one of the shows. The circus never seemed to stop surprising you.

"I know you're up there!" The tight-rope walker's daughter called into the darkness of the largest tent. Her voice almost echoed, and all she could see was her long shadow stretch out before her on the ground.

Everything was set up for the performances tonight, and the large net for the acrobats was strung up already. That meant Richard could go up on the swings without getting in trouble. He was told not to try performing in the dark, but he didn't like to listen to his parents. That, she guessed, was why he was so upset.

Practicing long and hard, he was hoping to impress his parents enough to go without the net tonight, but right after their family act he was told to sit down and watch them for their last performance. That meant no 'without-the-net' stunts and that really dampened his spirit.

Something _swished_ above her and she grinned to herself.

"Come on, Robin. Your mom is looking for you. You have to get ready."

There was a swish sound and she could faintly make out a figure flipping in the air swiftly as he slowly made his descent toward the ground. Just at the last moment he caught the next swing and rocketed back toward the ceiling of the tent.

Squinting so that her eyes could adjust to the dark, Niki frowned. He was swinging around in a baggy hoodie—not a smart thing if you got tangled up in your clothes. Besides, how the heck could he adjust to the added wait and re-calculate how long it would take him before stopped flipping. Being an acrobat took a lot of thinking and timing—and you especially needed to know your body well. In tight-rope walking, it was more for balance, but when you were constantly twisting and turning in the air…

She wasn't scared of heights, but she could never muster the guts to be an acrobat.

"Will you at least tell me 'no'?" She asked patiently and he flipped once more—three times backward before falling purposefully toward the net. Then he just laid there and sighed heavily, a tiny boy who you could pick up as easily as feather. That was probably why he could do his stunts so well.

"Fine—No!" He said, his voice small and immature. She could tell he was in a bad mood. "Tell them I don't want to see them."

"You can't, Robin…they're your parents."

"Sue me."

Stupid brat was also a smart kid. He could also say and spell words she hadn't even heard of before.

"What does 'sue' mean?"

"To…institute…proceedings against a person for…_redress_ of grievances…I think…"

The kid was a walking dictionary.

Something moved in the stands and Niki jumped. Startled, she turned to see who was there, but couldn't see much in the light. Side-glancing to Richard, she watched the boy climb from the netting and walk up to stand next to her. "Hello?" He called, no sign of fear in his voice. "Mom? Dad?"

Something clanked against the stands and Niki jumped again, a squeak escaping her lips. This merited a childish laugh from Robin, a lively and sweet one that forced him to grip his stomach in slight pain.

"What's so funny?" She snapped, hands on her hips. "One minute you're sad, and the next you're laughing your head off. What's up with that?"

He stopped and patted her on the shoulder. "It's probably just our imagination. The stands are old—they're probably creaking from age."

There was another loud clank and they both fell silent. Robin straightened, running a hand through his short and spiky black hair before taking a step in front of Niki in a protective manner. She admired that he acted like her brother.

"Rob—"

"Shhhh…" He hushed her gently, staring over his shoulder at her. "I think it's Tony…"

Tony? Tony Zucco? One of the most ruthless mobsters in Gotham City that was bugging money out of the circus owner, Mr. Haly, whenever business was good? Richard had to be kidding her.

"He was talking to Mr. Haly in his office a short while ago." Richard whispered, sounding intelligent. "Haly won't give him anything and Tony said he'd make him pay another way…"

"Then why is he in here?" She asked, not seeing any sense in what he was saying. 'It's not like—"

"Niki! Robin! Where have you two been?"

Both yelping, they turned toward the tent entrance to see Mary Grayson, Richard's mother, standing there with a small smile on her face. "Come on, Robin dear." She said sweetly, and the two moved toward her. "You have to get ready for tonight."

Niki noted the small frown on the small boy's face as they neared the light. "But, mom—can't I act with you? I promise I'll hold on tight!"

"Not without a net, dear. Maybe when you're older."

"That's what you always say…" He muttered, but followed her anyway to suit up. He loved his parents dearly and always gave up in the end. They were the only two people he'd listen to half the time, unless the other performers were nice toward him. Shout at him and he'd kick you so hard, you'd have to cover your shins for a month.

After his shower Robin pulled out his performance costume. He loved it. It was a red shirt with green short sleeves, green pants and a pair of jazz shoes that looked like boots. He slipped on his costume and ran to his mother, who was putting on the finishing touches of her make-up.

"Aw, Robin—why didn't you dry your hair?" His mother scowled, turning around and ruffling his spiky hair. She frowned gently in her motherly-way before breaking out with a warm smile. "I told you to get ready earlier. You could have showered before you decided to practice."

"In the dark no less, Mary." His father, John Grayson, scolded playfully. Niki probably told him. "You could have sprained or broken something, Richard. Why don't you listen?"

He shrugged his small shoulders and acted as though he thought nothing of it. "It makes it all the more fun."

His mother ruffled it again and it only became spikier. That was really the only reason he had it spiky in the first place—every time he tried to put it straight down, his parents cut it and ruffled it up again to no end. He gave up long ago trying to make them stop.

"Well, we'd better get ready." Mary sighed, straightening her own hair as thunderous applauds and roars of laughter came from inside the ring. The clowns were exiting and that was their que to enter. "Ready, Robin?"

Nodding, he followed his parents out from the tent as their introduction began. The only light was the spotlight on the ring master, but the family of three made their way easily to the ladder and climbed up, John and Mary on one end, Robin on the other. When he did his first trapeze act, he could remember how he trembled, staring down at the masses of people before he jumped. Jumping…was the hardest part. Once you were off solid ground, all the fear was gone and you felt like you were flying. All noises were deafened and all you could see were the swings and the ready hands reaching out to grab you.

It was wonderful.

"—I give you—the Flying Graysons!"

The acrobats always received the largest amount of applause, and tonight it was no different. There wasn't a person Richard met that didn't drop their jaw the first time they saw a trapeze act

They jumped—and he jumped, adrenaline pumping through his body as excitement hummed in the back of his mind. It was always a thrill to do this, and the moment he released his grips on the swings…he was falling. His gut was lifting up into his chest and the ground was speeding toward his face until—

His parents each held out a hand and he caught them. They swung upside-down by their knees, smiling at Robin as they tossed him up again. He spun in mid-air at least twice before back flipping and reaching out to grab the next swing. He caught it and held on to it before he was swinging back toward his mother—his father having flipped off his own perch to grab another swing. The dance was in action and it smoothly continued for what felt like the longest, most happiest hours of his life—even though the act was no where near as long as an hour. It was ended pretty much the same way it always did, never failing to amaze the crowd, no matter how many times it happened. Thrown by his mother, he flipped four times in a row—the only kid able to do that so far in the world—and was caught by his father until they landed by the platform next to the ladder.

There was a creaking noise above him, coming from the rigging, but John didn't hear it. Richard passed it aside as a part of his imagination, and started his descent toward the ground as the crowd continued to applaud. His parents were up next, showing the same routine he had seen so many times before he could have done it with them. But his mother had strict rules—he was to go and prepare for bed the moment he was done his performance. Otherwise, it would have been all the harder to wake him in the morning when they would be packing to leave for France.

He liked France…but he preferred Italy.

"Nice job, today, kid." Niki said as he entered the performers' area of the tent, (It was right behind the bleachers and he could still hear the people gasping and clapping), "If you want to watch them, I promise I won't tell them…"

He bit his lower lip hard. Yes, he was bored of seeing the same routine for the last month and a half, but…he had to admit he liked it. And his parents were doing it without a net.

Okay—a peek wouldn't hurt anyone.

Stepping next to the parting in the tent fabric, he stared through to the main ring and watched as his mother swung from her perch to his father who held out his arms warmly to his wife.

He was entranced again. He didn't know how they did it, but they just amazed him…

_Snap! Snap!_

The swing suddenly gave way and, nothing left for them to grab, Mr. and Mrs. Grayson began their descent toward the ground. In a second—maybe two—they hit the floor with a sickening thud and lay lifelessly on the ground beside each other. The entire crowd gasped and a girl screamed as realization dawned in…

"Oh,my!"Niki's father, the tightrope walker gasped, grabbing Niki by her shoulders and turning her around sharply not to look at the scene. Richard, on the other hand, was paralyzed with shock…

"Richard?" He was shaken by one of the other performers, a woman who assisted the ring master. She knelt down in front of him, but he was totally oblivious to her. "Richard! Richard—look at me dear! Please—_Richard_!"

He didn't hear or see her…but his eyes were stinging with tears that flowed freely now…

_They're dead…_

She stood and was about to grab his hand when he sped toward the center ring, eyes pinned on his parents as men and women crowded around them to inspect the bodies and figure out if they were alive or not. But they knew they were dead—even Richard knew they were dead! Then why didn't they move! Why wouldn't they let him see them!

Numerous people bumped into him, and he barely made it past the stands. He finally made it and squeezed through the hundreds of people surrounding the middle ring. The sight of his parents made him fall to his knees crying. Several police officers ran into the tent as a young teenage girl picked up little Robin and carried him out of the tent, away from the chaos. She went into Haly's trailer and sat down on the couch. "It'll be okay Robin, it'll be okay."


End file.
